Much like the weeks heading into Mardi Gras, the buildup to New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW) is an event unto itself. The Idea Village provided a preview Wednesday (Jan. 11) of its 2017 lineup of keynote speakers, workshops and pitch competitions on the March 19-24 schedule.

The ninth year of NOEW will happen at a new venue. After setting up shop along Fulton Street in previous years, events will take place at the Contemporary Arts Center and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, both in the 900 block of Camp Street. Representatives of The Idea Village, CAC and IberiaBank, the title sponsor for NOEW, shared details Wednesday at the bank's Poydras Street offices.

Emily Madero, acting CEO of The Idea Village, explained the new setting falls in line with this year's theme: "NOEW: Where culture and innovation connect." Entrepreneur Week is part of a calendar of cultural happenings in New Orleans, interlacing food, music and art with the local startup scene, she said.

The six-day schedule includes more than 100 events, including entrepreneur showcases, workshops, panel discussions, social networking events and industry-specific gatherings. Several pitch competitions will take place during the week, culminating with The Big Idea on the final day.

The Big Idea is a crowd-driven competition that starts with entrepreneurs submitting their ideas online through Jan. 20. A team from The Idea Village will choose 20 semifinalists from those submissions. They will be featured on NOLA.com, where starting March 6 readers can vote for their favorite business ideas.

The 10 companies with the most votes will advance to NOEW, where on March 24 attendees can allocate $25 voting chips to their favorite startup. The three entrepreneurs with the most chips then pitch their ideas to a panel of celebrity judges, who will choose the overall winner.

The Big Idea grand prize includes $25,000 in cash and the $30,000 Peter Mayer Marketing Prize, a package of branding and starting marketing services. Voting chips and tickets for the week can be purchased at www.NOEW.org.

There are more than 20 pitch competitions planned for NOEW, and 38 community partners will host events in and around New Orleans.

Other highlights include NOEW's keynote speakers. As of Wednesday, those confirmed included:

- Lisa Atia, brand strategist at Blavity

- Chef John Besh, restaurateur, founder of John Besh Foundation

- Suzanne DiBiance, chief philanthropy officer at Salesforce

- Jim Coulter, founding partner at TPG Capital

- Andy Goldberg, chief creative officer at General Electric

- Brett Goldstein, managing partner at Ekistics Ventures

- Kelly Hoey, author and investor

- Adrien Lanusse, vice president of consumer insights at Netflix

- Patrick Lee, co-founder of Hobo Labs and Rotten Tomatoes

- Cooper Manning, investor and co-host of "The Manning Hour" on Fox Sports

- Leslie Miley, director of engineering at Slack

- Manny Ruiz, founder of Hispanicize Media Group

NOEW 2017 starts with a block-party style celebration on March 19 at The Backyard.

Other notable events during the week include NOEW Interactive, a three-day track from March 21-23 open to all attendees that's designed "to spark inspiration and new thinking."

The Investor Experience, from March 23-24, is planned to give national and local investors direct access to startups seeking seed funding to their first significant round of venture funding.